nail holes. I hung it above my bed, as guardian and sentinel
of protection, of embryonic faith and safekeeping. I do not
pray, but I dwell on Karma and the hereafter. We all need
all the help we can obtain, and this cross, for me, is not
so much icon as amulet, a barrier, frail yet forceful, against
the vampires, often our own selves, who seek to strip us of
time, talent and treasure.
Two of the four Piero della
Francesca paintings on exhibit
at the Met, interestingly, are of
Saint Jerome, translator of the
Vulgate: Saint Jerome and a
Supplicant (ca. 1460-64) from
the Gallerie dell'Accademia,
Venice; and Saint Jerome in the
Wilderness (1450) lent for the first
time by the Gemaeldegalerie,
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
The Madonna and Child is
the subject of the other two
paintings: Madonna and Child
with Two Angels (ca. 1464-74?)
from the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Palazzo Ducale,
Urbino; and Madonna and Child (ca. 1439-40) from the
private Alana Collection, Delaware.
It is the two paintings of St. Jerome (circa 347-420) that most
fascinate me, for it is that saint's life, as ill tempered, often
ascetic literary personage—and patron saint of librarians--
Pictured: Madonna and Child With Two Angels
HYLAND
